Nali and Nira walked to the stables together. They were arguing the entire way. “You can stop boasting about being allowed to go into Elvendale. You don’t even leave until three weeks after me,” Nali said. “Yeah, but you don’t get to do anything,” Nira shot back. “Shut up.” Nali mounted his horse and left Nira in the dust before she could say anything. “Finally.” He said to himself when he was beyond the castle wall. “I’m free!” Okay, that wasn’t true, but it felt that way. He heard metal clashing in the distance, and turned his horse that way. When he got there, he knew his Mother would want him to stay on the sidelines, and don’t engage. Buuuuuuuuuut, Mother isn’t here.He thought. He got closer and saw something that he hadn’t noticed when he watched from the castle. The look in their eyes, as they were stabbed, shot, or bitten. He used to think of elves just as enemies, but now they looked like actual people. People with lives. No, they are against us. We will defeat them.Nali scolded himself. It looked strangely beautiful, with the green and blue of the elves mixing with the black and red of the vampires, though the blue/green was falling quickly. He slowly got closer, and closer, and closer until he was just a few metres away. It was a miracle that no one had noticed him yet, as he would be brought into the fray. No one likes a leech.He had no official training, only the instincts that all vampires had. Stuff that had kept them alive before they formed cities and the kingdom. Only hunters still used all of these instincts. Nali was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice the elf sneaking up behind him. *** Nali woke up in a dim room, with walls made of cobblestone with bars on one side. He noticed a sharp pain on the back of his head. That elf must have knocked me out, he thought. He went up to the bars and noticed some vampires in armour. The armour was mostly just a medieval suit of armour, just with more spikes, and a red cape. They must have been centurions that were taken by the elves. “What the heck? Why am I here?” he said. “You were taken. Duh,” said one of the captives. “You seem a little young, but now you’re here. I don’t know you, so you must be unimportant,” said another. Unimportant?!He was the Prince of the vampires, and the only one at that! He was about to say that to the centurions, but he heard footsteps. Better not let the elves know that. If they didn’t know who he was, they couldn’t use him as a bribe. And really, his mother never really let him out of the castle, so it was no wonder that no one knew him. The door creaked open and out stepped what looked like a prison guard. Behind him, someone else was with him. He was young, about Nali’s age, with shoulder length hair that faded from platinum blond to mint green at the tips. He was wearing a large, sky blue, off the shoulder sweater with the elven insignia; a pine tree. He had black leggings and shoes. He had a slight frown on his face, as if he didn’t want to be here. Nali drew in a breath. It was the elf prince.